#'reckless driving' by lizzy mcalpine

[medicbrainrot]

i don’t wanna be here when you lose control

An awkward silence had taken over the room Task Force 141 was occupying when Ghost and Jaguar (Simon and Artemis) had gotten into a heated argument during a briefing meeting for an upcoming mission.

Ghost gritted his teeth. “Why do you always go on these off-topic tangents?! This is important!” His icy cold stare went right through Jaguar, putting a bit of a chill in the air.

“I’m sorry, but sometimes I get off track!” She says defensively.

“That is not good enough! This is important!!” He stalks closer to her, still gritting his teeth. His eyes look as angry as ever through the mask.

“We are not continuing until you realize that what you are doing is disruptive and wasting time!” His tone is cold, and his stare is even colder.

As his anger builds, his tone becomes even more harsh, to the point where he is almost yelling at Jaguar.

“Sit. Still! This is important! Now, can we please keep focus here!?” He grits out loudly.

“I CAN’T HELP IT! I HAVE ADHD!” Jaguar shouts.

Ghost growls and steps closer, putting his face right in front of hers.

“I said SIT STILL. This is IMPORTANT.” He said furiously.

His words shut her up immediately, and Jaguar didn’t move a muscle or say a single word throughout the rest of the meeting.

When the meeting was over, Ghost turned to Jaguar one more time. 

“I trust you understand the gravity of this now.” He said coldly, before walking away without another word. He’s absolutely livid, but he needs to calm down.

The next few days, the base feels awfully quiet as the team prepares for the mission.

Ghost himself is as silent as ever, hardly speaking to anyone, and keeping mostly to himself. It seems like he’s mostly gotten over the argument with Artemis, but he’s still a little pissed off about it.

No one really knows what’s going through his mind, but they’re all keeping an eye on him in case he snaps.

Artemis, in a similar vein, has been more withdrawn than usual, and barely gives more than one or two word responses when spoken to.

Simon picked up on Artemis’ behavior, and realized that perhaps she’s feeling the same way he is: guilty.

He knows he shouldn’t have snapped at her the way he did, but he couldn’t help it.

After a brief moment of pondering, he decides to go find her and try to make it up to her. He gathers a few of her favorite snacks into a little bag, and heads to her room, hesitating before knocking on the door. “Artemis?” 

After a few more knocks, Soap pokes his head out from his own room next door. “Jaguar’s not here, LT.” He says.

Ghost sighs internally. “Where is she?” He asks gruffly, even though internally he’s feeling guilty. His body language still reads frustration, but he manages to calm himself down so he doesn’t snap at Soap.

“Last I heard, she was headed to the firing range.” He supplies helpfully.

“The firing range?” Ghost asks.

Soap nods in response.

“Okay.” Ghost nods, hanging the little bag of snacks on Jaguar’s door handle before turning to leave for the range.

As he approaches the firing range, he can hear shot after shot being fired, in an even, precise rhythm. He slips on a pair of hearing protection headphones, and enters the range to find Artemis there, firing at target after target in pure anger and frustration.

She’s got her own hearing protection on, and it seems like she’s settled into a rhythm of firing round after round into the targets, quickly changing the mag, then continuing to fire.

Ghost approaches Jaguar carefully, getting closer with each step. He finally speaks when he's close enough she’ll be able to hear him over her protective equipment.

“Artemis?” He says, trying to keep a sense of calm in his voice, despite what happened the other day. “I came to apologize.”

“It’s alright Lieutenant.” She says stiffly, without turning around.

His tones soften a bit, not having expected forgiveness so easily. “Are you sure?” He pauses and lowers his voice a bit. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that…We disagree sometimes, but you didn’t deserve that.”

“It’s fine.” she says, equally as stiff as the first response.

Ghost stands in silence for a moment, before taking a deep breath. He’s not sure what else he could say to make things right between them, but he knows he has to do something.

“Are you absolutely sure it’s alright?”

She fires the rifle again. “It’s fine.” She says again. She has yet to turn around, and her voice remains awfully stiff.

Simon begins to worry that it’s not all fine. “I don’t like you sounding so stiff.” He says, notes of concern filling his voice.

He takes a step closer to her, his tone trying to remain soft and gentle. “Artemis…”

This time, she sets the rifle down and finally turns to look at him, slipping off her hearing protection. Her eyes are red and puffy, and now that she’s not holding the rifle, he can see that her hands are shaking. “I said it’s fine Lieutenant.”

An awful sinking feeling settled in Simon’s stomach, almost like he was sick. He knew immediately that he had to do something in order to fix this. All he wants is to comfort her, but he has to know where to start. He slipped off his hearing protection before speaking.

“No, it’s not. What’s wrong Artemis?”

“If you’ve come to yell at me to sit still again, don’t worry. I’ve been working on it the past few days.” She says, gesturing to the destroyed targets downrange. 

Simon looks at the targets, concerned by the mess, horrified by the realization that he was the cause. He takes a deep breath before speaking. “Artemis, I haven’t come to yell. I’m so, so sorry for snapping at you the other day.” 

He pauses for a moment, trying to put himself in her shows. “Do you…want to talk about it?”

“I don’t know…I might go on another tangent…” She says flatly.

His tone softens some more, he can tell that she’s very bitter. “Artemis, you can tell me anything you want. What’s on your mind?” He asks, trying to show that he is being genuine, and won’t criticize her for going on another ‘tangent’. 

“What’s on my mind? What’s on my mind!?” She exclaims, as she presses her hands tightly into her eyes. “What’s on my mind is I’ve been trying to figure out for weeks how to tell my boyfriend I have ADHD, only for it to slip out in an argument and then have him use it against me. That’s what’s on my mind, Simon.”

‘Oh god.’ Simon thinks to himself. ‘That’s what’s been keeping her up at night?’ Simon hasn’t felt this awful in a long, long time. He’s horrified that he’s done this to her. “I’m sorry…”

“It’s fine.” She mumbles, her hands still pressed tightly into her eyes.

“Artemis…” He takes a few tentative steps closer, putting a hand on her shoulder and turning her to face him more.

“I didn’t mean to attack you like I did. I was wrong to do so, and I was wrong to not consider the consequences. I’m so, so sorry for my actions.”

“You’re not the first one.” She mumbles, lowering her hands from her eyes. “I’m surprised you haven’t broken up with me yet.”

“What do you mean?” He asks, his eyebrows raising under his mask. “Did I make you feel like breaking up is the only option?” He’s shocked at the possibility, a look of worry on his face. “Artemis, breaking up with you never even crossed my mind. Are you serious?”

“My last boyfriend broke up with me a few days after I told him, said I was too much to handle.” She says, a few tears escaping her eyes.

Artemis’ words cause Simon to feel another wave of guilt wash over him. He had no idea this wasn’t the first time she was treated this way, and it made him feel so much worse, knowing that he was one of the people who caused her pain. “He was wrong…” Simon starts gently. “He was wrong. You’re not ‘too much to handle’, Artemis.” He pauses. “You’re perfect just the way you are, I promise.”

“That’s not what you said when you yelled at me…” She says with a flat affect.

A look of guilt passes through Simon’s eyes, and he drops his head as he tries to come up with a response. “You’re right. I didn’t say that. I essentially said the opposite, something  cruel, that I shouldn’t have said. But, Artemis…” He pauses, his tone getting soft again. “What I said was wrong. You deserve to be treated better than that… I’m sorry.”

Artemis shrugs. “It’s my fault for fidgeting during a meeting.”

“No Artemis, it isn’t.” Simon sighs and rubs the back of his neck. “You have ADHD. It’s something you can’t control. You deserve to be treated with love and respect, and you shouldn’t have to be shamed simply because you don’t act how others might want you to.”

“I wish that conversation had gone differently.” She sniffles, as a fresh wave of tears fills her eyes.

“I do too, Artemis.” Simon steps forward and hugs her tightly, trying to comfort her. “Is there any way I can make it up to you?” He asks gently.

“I don’t know. My brain is so fucking scrambled.” She sniffles.

“Scrambled?” He asks gently. “Why? Do you feel anxious? Do you feel overwhelmed?”

“I don’t know what I feel right now. There’s too much going on in my brain.” Artemis says.

“It’s okay, It’s okay to not know, love.” Simon says softly.

“It’s not okay! I keep fucking up because I can’t get my fucking brain under control!” She yells, exasperated.

Simon flinches slightly when she yells. “What do you mean by that…?” He asks cautiously. “How have you been messing up?”

“I talk too much, I fidget too much, I annoy everyone around me because I’m too much. I have seventeen trains of thought going in my head at all times and I don’t know where any of them are fucking going!” She shouts.

It takes effort from Simon not to jump when she shouts again. He takes a deep breath before speaking, trying to calm his nerves, so that he doesn’t say something that might hurt Artemis further. “Artemis…If I might speak bluntly. It doesn’t sound like you’re the problem here. It sounds to me that your previous exes were too harsh to you…” He says gently.

“It’s not just my exes. My friends, my teachers, my parents. I feel like I’m gonna go crazy if I have to be still and quiet but there’s nothing I can fucking do about it!!” She tries to take a breath. “It’s always, sit still, stop talking, stop fidgeting, stop bouncing, stop shouting, you’re being too loud, you’re being disruptive. Everything about my existence is annoying and yet I can’t seem to SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!”

Simon’s eyes go wide at the outburst, but he manages to keep calm and keep holding Artemis tightly. “Artemis…” His tone remains gentle, and he realizes what he needs to say. His own trauma is screaming at him to not go near this, but he knows that right now that’s not the answer. He takes a deep breath and starts softly. “I think I understand what happens when you get overwhelmed.”

“What.” She says in a small voice.

He can hear the pain in her voice and it makes him feel even more horrible for speaking so harshly to her.  He rubs her shoulder gently, trying to comfort her. “Your mind feels like it’s being attacked by constant thoughts, and you feel like you might explode if you don’t do something…And you feel like talking and moving helps you, even if just for a little bit.”

“Pretty much. I didn’t get diagnosed until I was 22, but it made so much sense.” She says quietly.

“Artemis, I’m so sorry you’ve had to go through this like that. Nobody should have to feel like they’re not allowed to speak or move. You have every right to speak and move around all you want. If anyone else tells you otherwise, they’re wrong.” His voice grows even softer. “You are not too much.”

“Even when it’s you telling me to be quiet and sit still?” She asks.

“That’s on me. That’s me being inconsiderate, and it’s me being wrong. I can’t apologize enough for that. I’m sorry Artemis, I didn’t mean to hurt you.” He says softly, hoping she understands.

“It’s okay.” She says sadly. “You didn’t know…”

“Artemis, I still shouldn’t have treated you like that, regardless. I’m just…I’m sorry I didn’t realize something sooner.” He says gently. “If I could go back and undo what I said, I swear I would. But I can’t. All I can do is apologize and make sure I don’t do something like that again.”

“I wanted to tell you sooner… I just….didn’t know how…I felt like there was never a right time…” She says as a tear slides down her cheek.

“It’s alright.” Simon says softly, swiping away the tear with his thumb. “Don’t beat yourself up over it. I’m the one who reacted poorly. It’s on me to learn, not on you to do something you aren’t comfortable with.” He holds her tighter, trying to express his love with the hug.

Artemis leans into the hug, burying herself into his chest. “I’m sorry for avoiding you.” She mumbles.

“It’s alright to ask for space after an argument. It just means you want time to cool down.” He says reassuringly. “If you need more time to process, I’m alright giving you whatever you need.”

“I don’t want more time to process. I haven’t slept in two days. I just want to go to bed.” Artemis says, trying not to cry.

Simon nods, pulling slightly back from the hug. He looks down at Artemis, still feeling guilty about how he hurt her. He can now tell how tired she is, and how desperately she needs sleep. 

“Okay, I can help with that. Do you need anything before you go rest? Water, a snack, anything?”

“A snack would probably be good. I’ve been here at the range since early this morning.” She yawns. “Maybe…maybe, after I’ve slept, we can talk some more about this?”

Simon gives Artemis a warm smile. “Of course, take all the time you need, love.”

He releases her from the embrace and turns to go get her a snack while she cleans up her stuff at the range.

“Simon, wait.” She calls out.

Simon stops in his tracks, turning around to face Artemis again. “What is it, Artemis? Was there something else?” He asks softly.

She steps forward and lifts his mask to press a gentle kiss to his lips. “I love you.” She says softly.

Simon is caught a little off guard by the kiss, but he quickly recovers. He leans into the kiss, and pulls away after a few seconds, smiling warmly at her. “I love you too, Artemis.” He pulls her into another gentle kiss, holding her close. “I love you… more than you could ever know. Never forget that.”

A/N: Thanks for reading! Likes, reblogs, and feedback are appreciated!

Masterlist

[connabeth]

the lotus casino scenes were so severely lacking in shenanigans but the car part was so fun like what do you mean percy’s so obsessed with annabeth’s approval and validation that when he finally does something marginally decently after causing complete and utter terror he looks at her and meets her gaze to be like “see? are you proud of me?” and gets distracted and immediately totals her side of the car

[fixations-go-crazy]

james "would you hold me when we crash or would you let me go?" potter and regulus "one day it will kill us if i don't let go" black.

[sadiecoocoo]

Reckless Driving is very Anidala or Rexwalker or really any Anakin ship ever

[reisingstarz]

“Eat my dust, sidekick”

I’ve been listening to reckless driving by Lizzy McAlpine ft. Ben Kessler on repeat as of late and couldn’t get this dynamic out of my head.

IT’S THEM!!!!

[littlespoonevan]

*slips you a fiver* hi i'd like to hear about those abby/tommy parallels please

oh anon, i am Obsessed with you for asking me this question askdjf let's go!!!

okay. so rewinding to 5x04: the thing that endeared me most to buck/tommy as a pairing and the reason why i'm more on board with them than i ever was with buck/taylor or buck/natalia is mostly because of buck's reaction to tommy during the kiss. it's been over a month but i still haven't quite come to terms with just how lovely???? his reaction was???

because buck, in the immediate aftermath of the kiss, is just so in awe. and so shocked at the possibility of this thing that he never thought he could have. and it honestly really reminded me of how he was with abby??? i think i made a post about it at the time but in both instances it felt like a moment where buck was realising, "oh i can have this if i want it???"

in abby's case, the 'this' in question was romantic love. the possibility of real feelings and a real connection with somebody who wanted him back.

in tommy's case, the 'this' is obviously the idea of romantic love with a man and discovering a part of himself he never lingered too much on before.

in both scenarios, it offers us up a side of buck that's just so genuinely happy and excited and giddy almost??? most likely because of how real it feels and how much he's letting himself feel it??? like, idk if you've rewatched s1 recently but s1 buck is just so Open with his feelings for abby????? and regardless of what happened afterwards or if you ship them, seeing that side of him is just askfja it makes me giddy lmao.

and i definitely think we're seeing something similar with buck now. like, it's a little different - buck being open in s1 meant him being very charming and very upfront about his feelings whereas in s7 buck is more open in the sense that he's not shying away from his feelings for tommy even though coming to terms with his sexuality is obviously a very big thing too.

and i just don't think we've seen that from him with ali/taylor/natalia. with ali, it's understandable since she was barely in s2 and it was really just his attempt to start moving on after abby. with taylor, i think the 'buck is taylor's abby' theory still holds a Lot of weight and i think he never really knew how to be all in with her the way he was with abby. and with natalia, well, we all know that didn't really get any development. so seeing him like this now is just very refreshing, y'know???

(i'm not saying he didn't care about those partners, he obviously did, but the sense of anticipation there now is very much something that i feel is only on a par with his pursuit of abby)

and then ofc, on a more basic level, there are parallels in them both being older and having a lived a Life outside of buck that maybe he doesn't full comprehend yet and them both being a sort of guiding hand to him as he navigates a new part of himself.

but in terms of where things'll go now and how it might affect buck? i think buck is a very different person from season 1. he's also lived a Life (several really at this point) and his current personal life is so much more full than it ever was when he was dating abby so i don't think he'll be pinning all his hopes on tommy the way he sort of did with her. i think he can definitely still get swept up in his feelings (as we've seen lol) but i also think he's willing to take this thing between him and tommy for what it is and not put pressure on it like he would've before.

tl;dr it's not necessarily about the tommy/abby parallels and more about the buck parallels when he's with both of them, y'know??? :')

[thatsmybook]

This part of this song, this ship, it's a perfect match! An excellent edit by Multifandom on tiktok.

Simon is always looking ahead at their relationship and is careful about what lies before them. Wille is reckless and lives for their relationship here and now. He can't look at the bigger picture when all his focus is on wanting Simon.

Season one, Simon tells Wille that he only thinks about their relationship on his own terms. He needs to figure out what he wants on his own. Take as long as he needs, and Simon respects his journey.

Impulsive Wille doesn't do that work until the last episode of the show when he grows to understand what Simon has been saying all along. He finally knows what he wants and is able to tell his parents calmly.

The end of the show is just the beginning of Wille getting to have the courage of his convictions and know himself. His conversation about his role as Crown Prince has only just begun. It's not a complete conversation with his mum by the end of the show. She's let him say his piece and seems to have heard him. She only says to "Let him go". The hidden "for now" is implied, in my opinion.

I don't even think that Simon thinks it will be the end of their fight with the Royal Court. But now they will both be driving down the road together with their eyes on the road ahead and finally on the same page.

[think-like-a-poet]

'Reckless drivig' by lizzy McAlpine is so LESTAPPEN.

[raayllum]

callum is the character who just doesn’t really look before he leaps and only questions halfway down if it was maybe not the best idea, and rayla is the character who sees how far the drop is and how bad her chances are and jumps anyway, and the fact this is literally canon (hi 3x09) yet perfectly encapsulates how they differ when it comes to risk taking is chef’s kiss

[lollipopcheerio]

i don't wanna be here when you kill us both

textless

[ciitedexcerpt]

I didn't mean to kiss you. I mean I did, but I didn't think it'd go this far.

[a-very-sparkly-nerd]

Never not gonna recommend "Nothing / Sad N Stuff" as a Rayllum song. Dragons made me listen to Lizzy McAlpine's "reckless driving" and now I'm hooked. So. Blame them.

[lilys-trophy-wife]

reckless driving by lizzy mcalpine is soooo just lovers jegulus. i will explain no further.

[lyricallymnded]

reckless driving // lizzy mcalpine feat. ben kessler

[sunnyxjarrus]

“Her arsenal of honesty”

babe where did we pull that from like what

[chaotic-theatrical-weaver]

Hey, your boyfriend wants to know if you love him like that. No, he can’t focus on the road when you’re in his car. No, his hands aren’t on the wheel. Yes, you’re going 100 and this really isn’t safe. Yes, this is unfortunately because you kissed him. Ahhh, look out he’s going 180 and crashed the car into the tree! Sorry. So, so sorry.